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SILVER SPRING, Md.—The Security Industry Association (SIA) has announced the keynote speakers for its annual executive conference, Securing New Ground (SNG), where more than 250 senior-level industry leaders and financial partners will gather at the Edison Ballroom in New York City, Oct. 25-26.

Jerome Pickett, senior vice president and chief security officer at the National Basketball Association (NBA), and Valerie Thomas, executive information security consultant for Securicon, will give remarks at the event, which brings together industry leaders and key players for two days of information sharing, networking and business analysis.

Thomas, also an ethical hacker and author, will speak at 11:15 a.m. on day 1 of the conference about securing the future of physical security, and Pickett’s remarks at 4:00 p.m. that afternoon will share global lessons from the NBA’s security program, how he’s handling disruptive technologies and using intelligent security solutions to prepare for threats and more.

“Each year, SNG attendees get to dive deep into the security trends that matter to them, and this conference helps them clarify business strategies and drive their business forward,” Don Erickson, SIA’s CEO, said in the announcement. “We are excited to welcome Jerome Pickett and Valerie Thomas to SNG 2018, where attendees will gain top insights from these distinguished security leaders.”

In addition to the keynote addresses, SNG 2018 will feature many engaging discussions and events, including:

• The View from the Top: Challenges for Today’s Security Industry Leaders• Harnessing Cyber-Physical Security Technologies• Securing the Future Generation of Security• The Smart City of the Future Will Be Conscious• Investment Insights: Perspectives from Wall Street and Private Equity

Leadership is a big topic around the Security Systems News office right now.

We have our Leadership Talks series. Through this series, we get the chance to talk with notable professionals throughout the industry about their distinct leadership approaches and styles.

This series inspired our currently News Poll, which you can find by clicking here. We’d like to hear from all of our readers about the styles of leadership you respond best to, as well as what best suits your company. Feel free to weigh in and we always appreciate extra comments.

On top of those two items, we have chosen (but are not yet announcing) the 2018 class of winners for Security Systems News’ annual “20 under 40” awards. Through this annual recognition, we get to speak to a whole group of promising young professionals that stand as the current and next generations of leaders for the physical security industry—both in the dealer, integrator and monitoring side, as well as the end user side.

We are now in the beginning phases of reaching out to and congratulating this year’s honorees. In the process, we are hearing about how they lead teams, groups, or entire companies, and the leaders that mentored these “20 under 40” winners when they first started in the industry.

Keep an eye out in future months for the whole collection of feature articles on this year’s “20 under 40” class. Be sure to also take note of the leaders you see in your company and, if eligible, nominate them for next year’s awards.

Five manufacturers of security technologies have teamed up to provide safety and security at the 72nd Annual Little League Baseball World Series (LLBWS) for the players, coaches and fans. For the first time, BriefCam and Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS Company are joining Axis Communications, Lenel and Milestone Systems to provide video surveillance systems, access control and network connectivity for the 10-day tournament.

These five technology providers have come together to develop a comprehensive security strategy for the 16 Little League Baseball teams and worldwide fans participating in the World Series from Aug. 16 to 26, 2018, held in South Williamsport, Pa.

“Each year, hundreds of thousands of people come out to Williamsport to enjoy their time at the Little League Baseball World Series,” Jim Ferguson, Little League assistant director of risk management and safety, said in a prepared statement. “Along with the safety of all of 16 participating teams, our top priority during the Little League Baseball World Series is to provide a safe and secure facility for visitors from all over the world to enjoy. Thanks to these providers, we can continue to offer all of our fans, players, and volunteers a fun and safe location to create lifelong memories and exciting experiences during their visit.”

BriefCam, one of the newest contributors, is providing the company’s latest video content analytics platform to this year’s Little League Baseball World Series security solution. BriefCam’s groundbreaking video content analytics platform detects, tracks, extracts and identifies people, objects, their attributes and behavior from raw video feeds. By presenting objects that have appeared at different times within the video simultaneously, BriefCam enables security operators to review hours of video in minutes.

For the LLBWS, this means if children and parents are accidentally separated during the event, the security team will be well equipped to potentially locate and reunite related parties more quickly, the announcement noted. Additionally, BriefCam’s solution can be used to optimize operations such as attendee and vehicle traffic flows to ensure a safe and positive guest experience. The company’s video content analytics platform aligns with Axis IP-based digital video surveillance cameras and Milestone’s XProtect video management software for a comprehensive video surveillance, management and analytics solution.

“As this global event draws families from far and wide, it is important to further enable comprehensive safety, security and operational efficiencies,” Stephanie Weagle, CMO for BriefCam, said in a prepared statement. “Our technology will be on-hand to support the Little League in their endeavor to extract actionable intelligence from their video surveillance in the event that parents or family members need assistance in finding each other or streamlining operations to ensure that all involved have a great experience.”

Ruckus Networks, the second newest technology contributor, is providing a wireless mesh backhaul to deliver connectivity to both the scoreboards and surveillance cameras. Ruckus is deploying its T300 access points (APs), along with its SmartZone™ 100 management controller, to help ensure seamless connectivity for the outdoor environment. The T300s—the Ruckus flagship outdoor APs—allow high-definition video over Wi-Fi, enabling every video stream to be captured. For the LLBWS, this capability allows all the video cameras in the stadium to be constantly streaming, helping to ensure maximum safety and security at all times.

“In a digitally connected world, safety and security are critical elements that need to be part of every network,” Bart Giordano, vice president, worldwide business development and cloud for Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS company, said in the announcement. “We are teaming with other companies to bring the most innovative security capabilities to the games so that every family can feel safer onsite. Our robust wireless technologies ensure every video stream is captured from all cameras, at all times, helping make this annual event fun and secure.”

Axis Communications has provided technology for the Little League for nine years and is providing AXIS Q6128-E PTZ Network Camera, a compact, outdoor-ready PTZ dome, offering 4K resolution at 30 frames per second, 12x optical zoom and autofocus. The 4K resolution provides four times as much detail as the standard HDTV 1080p resolution, improving the video quality significantly. Both of these cameras will be integrated into the scoreboard in Lamade Stadium.

"Each year we look forward to evolving the security system by leveraging the newest technology in the industry," Robert Muehlbauer, senior manager, business development partner ecosystem at Axis Communications, said in a prepared statement. "The total solution provides a comprehensive system to help keep players and fans safe so they can enjoy America’s favorite pastime, baseball. We are proud to collaborate with all of the companies involved and to continue our work with Little League Baseball.”

For the 20th consecutive year, Lenel, a leading provider in advanced security systems, will provide its OnGuard access control platform. Players, coaches, officials, staff and vendors are all enrolled in the system and receive a photo identification badge providing access to predetermined areas. The system is integrated with the Axis surveillance cameras so when someone presents a badge at one of the access card readers, live video and the cardholder’s photo are displayed on a nearby monitor, allowing a guard to authenticate the identification.

Milestone is providing its XProtect Corporate video management software, which is installed along with a Milestone Husky™ M500A NVR as one of the recording servers. The XProtect Smart Client interface includes advancements in system performance by leveraging the processing power of NVIDIA GPU cards for measurable hardware acceleration, enabling more concurrent High Definition or Ultra HD video streams on high-resolution monitors. The LLBWS is also using the XProtect® Smart Wall for viewing and sending pertinent video to monitors around the facilities, including a mobile command center. BriefCam is embedded in the XProtect Smart Client with a dedicated screen tab for easy access to search hours of video in just minutes.

“It’s truly inspiring to see the open platform community of partners coming together for this great international family event, ensuring safety through ongoing technology innovations,” Jeremy Scott, strategic alliances manager, Americas for Milestone Systems, said in the announcement. “Every year brings new winners — on the field, in the stands and behind the scenes.”

Yale Locks & Hardware announced that smart locks from its Assure Lock line can now be connected to Comcast’s Xfinity Home service, its home security and home automation solution, when purchased with a Yale Zigbee Network Module.

“We’re delighted to partner with Xfinity Home and have our Assure Lock line play a critical role securing front doors across the country,” Jason Williams, president, ASSA ABLOY U.S. Residential Group, which includes Yale Residential, said in the announcement. “Xfinity Home customers can now connect an Assure Lock that’s right for them and control access and secure their homes from the Xfinity Home mobile app.”

The Yale Assure Lock line is an extensive series of smart locks that offers homeowners the choice of key-free or keyed locks in both touchscreen and pushbutton versions, all in a choice of three finishes. Four compatible Assure Locks with a Zigbee Network Module (available for purchase separately or with the lock) can be added to the Xfinity Home mobile app. Xfinity Home customers who already own a compatible Assure Lock can purchase a Yale Zigbee Network Module separately and easily add the device onto the Xfinity platform.

When Yale’s smart lock is integrated into an Xfinity Home system, the door locks can be controlled and monitored from anywhere using the Xfinity Home mobile app (iOS or Android). Users can remotely lock and unlock doors, check lock status, and create rules such as receive a notification if the door is unlocked after 8:30 p.m. Additionally, Xfinity Home customers with the X1 voice remote can say, “Lock the front door” to lock their compatible Yale Assure Lock.

“Smart door locks can be a meaningful home security addition, especially when combined with other IoT devices like cameras,” Patti Loyack, vice president, IP services, and home automation, for Comcast Cable, said in a prepared statement. “Xfinity’s platform gives consumers the ability to manage and control all of their smart devices in one unified experience and we’re excited to give our customers even more choice by integrating the Assure Lock line from Yale.”

Yale Assure Lock line with Zigbee is now available to Xfinity Home’s more than 1.2 million subscribers through the Works with Xfinity program.

LAKE FOREST, Calif.—National Monitoring Center, part of the Netwatch Group, recently welcomed Grant Graham back to the team as its vice president of dealer relations. Graham will be responsible for the leadership of dealers and dedicated to their success.

Graham previously served as NMC’s operations manager from 2001 to 2016. As operations manager, he skillfully and successfully oversaw all daily aspects of NMC’s multifaceted, nationwide operation.

Most recently, Graham served as Brinks Home security’s senior director of monitoring operations where he oversaw many elements of the company's operations, was responsible for reducing costs, and increased service level for alarm response by over 10 percent and inbound calls by 24 percent, NMC noted in its announcement.

“NMC has a long history of dedication to ahead-of-industry technological solutions and valuable partnerships which lead to the formation of Netwatch Group, and we apply that same dedication in our efforts to build a powerful, synergistic team at NMC. This is why we are thrilled to have Grant Graham on the team. Grant has a proven record of building long-term business relationships and has been instrumental in facilitating growth on numerous levels. His knowledge, drive, and winning attitude are assets that will complement and enhance NMC’s ability to meet the needs of our dealers as we continue to provide more attractive services,” Woodie Andrawos, NMC President, said in a prepared statement.

Graham’s combined experience and understanding of NMC culture and mission make him an excellent fit for this role, NMC said.

“I am excited to be taking on this new role as VP of dealer relations at NMC. It is wonderful to partner with a company focused on organizational growth and constant improvement. I look forward to having an impact on dealer success and helping them successfully navigate the market, acquire new agreements, deliver new products offerings, and leverage the wealth of dealer support available at NMC,” Graham said in the announcement.

Access-control-as-a-service (ACaaS) market revenues will increase to $950 million by 2022, and global mobile credential downloads are forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 100 percent from 2017 to 2022, according to recent findings from IHS Markit.

The London-based research firm found that small and medium-sized businesses are the leading adopters of ACaaS solutions, accounting for 21 percent of market revenues in 2017, with around 20 percent of the current installed base of access control readers will be mobile capable by 2022.

“Demand for ACaaS has grown rapidly over the past five years, and this growth is expected to continue,” Jim Dearing, senior analyst, security and building technology, IHS Markit, said in the announcement of the findings. “While there have been relatively few attempts to combine ACaaS solutions with mobile access, despite their apparent synergies, this type of integration will become more common over the next five years.”

Dearing pointed to following key benefits of integrating ACaaS and mobile access:

• A significant segment of ACaaS end users opt for fully managed solutions. Providers of managed solutions would benefit from the ability to issue and decommission credentials remotely, allowing them to lower management costs.

• Both mobile access and ACaaS are typically sold via subscription, or using recurring fee-based pricing models. Adding mobile credentials to an ACaaS contract would not be an issue for an integrator, and as mobile access becomes more popular in the traditional access control market, end users and installers are likely to become more familiar with the recurring-fee pricing model, which should generate additional interest in ACaaS.

• Like ACaaS solutions, the majority of access control solutions are cloud-based. As both become more popular, end users are likely to become more comfortable deploying cloud-based security solutions.

• ACaaS is increasing the penetration of access control systems in buildings, and many end users are owners of small and medium-sized businesses who have never owned an access control system before. This situation poses an excellent opportunity for mobile access, as providers can ensure that mobile-capable readers are installed from the outset.

In terms of overall adoption, Dearing said that, so far, early adopters of each solution are based in different industries. “Mobile access has seen its strongest adoption in the education and hospitality sectors, while ACaaS is gaining traction with small and medium-sized businesses and the property management segment,” he explained. “Due to the large number of smaller projects, a significant portion of ACaaS end users value affordability over advanced feature sets and functionality. ACaaS providers may struggle to convince end users to install readers that are mobile-capable but also more expensive.”

Despite both solutions typically being billed on a monthly or annual basis, the pricing models vary slightly, Dearing said. “ACaaS solutions are priced according to the number of doors, while mobile access is priced according to the number of credentials or users,” he noted. “Creating an intuitive but optimal pricing model for the combined solution could prove tricky for suppliers. If both original metrics are kept, suppliers are likely to encounter difficulty as end users scale their solutions.”

FIBARO, a manufacturer of wireless intelligent home automation and control devices which was recently acquired by Nice, today announced that it is growing its installer base in the US and has built a new training program for security professionals, such as residential and commercial AV installers, electricians and practitioners within the construction industry.

“The certified Fibaro system installer training can be completed in one day and has been designed to provide attendees with practical knowledge of the design, configuration and implementation of the Fibaro smart home system,” the announcement read. “The program begins with a 101 training and evolves into hands-on training provided directly from Fibaro or by a specialized Fibaro Distributor.”

“Fibaro’s installer training provided the perfect mix of product training and a detailed introduction to the smart home, as well as the Z-Wave platform,” Justin Lee, a recently certified Fibaro Installer from Ergo Structures Inc. located in Toronto, Canada, said in a prepared statement.

Participants who complete the training earn an individualized certificate verifying that they are a Fibaro system expert. Certified Fibaro installers can also access the Fibaro Academy portal, which includes training and video materials as well as sales and technical support during the installation and design of the newly certified installer’s first customers. “Successful completion of the certified installation training is also the first step to becoming a Fibaro dealer and the ability to buy directly from one of Fibaro’s certified distributors,” the company said.

SILVER SPRING, Md.—The Security Industry Association (SIA), in partnership with the ASIS Foundation and the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, jointly released guidance for practitioners in the security and building management fields. Intelligent Building Management Systems: Guidance for Protecting Organizations provides a framework to help decision makers assign a risk-based criticality or impact to their building and asks relevant security questions to develop appropriate mitigation strategies. It also serves to establish a common language between the many intelligent building stakeholders.

“The ASIS Foundation is delighted to work with our partners BOMA and SIA to support such critical research in a rapidly developing but insufficiently understood field,” Sandra Cowie, CPP, director, global security and business continuity, principal, and 2018 ASIS Foundation president, said in the joint announcement. “Building automation invokes cutting-edge issues and technology such as the Internet of Things and advanced video analytics, as well as traditional concerns such as physical access control and proper procedures. The integrated whole undoubtedly poses challenges that are still emerging. This research is indispensable to helping our members get a handle on both the challenges and the opportunities of this fast-growing market.”

According to the report, the intelligent building market is growing 31 percent per year and is expected to exceed $59 billion by 2023. These systems are increasingly embedded into the contemporary built environment due to the demand for reduced operating costs, government regulation, and greater monitoring, control and operability. However, this growth comes with a substantial set of security vulnerabilities that many security and facility professionals have not accounted for. Importantly, the research finds a significant disconnect between security and facility professionals’ perceived understanding of intelligent building threats and risks versus actual dangers. In addition, the report revealed that a lack of common terminology and practices can result in misunderstandings and siloed views of associated security risks.

The report findings emphasize the need to:• Take a multidisciplinary proactive management approach to intelligent building vulnerability mitigation• Fuse multidisciplinary participants into an intelligent building security team

Additional findings include the recognition of intelligent building integrators and cybersecurity experts as partners who can help organizations better understand threats and risks and more effectively achieve intelligent building security.

“The research developed by the ASIS Foundation provides insights that should be leveraged by our members and the industry to better understand and identify vulnerabilities within intelligent building systems," Don Erickson, chief executive officer, SIA, said in a prepared statement. "An essential outcome from this project is the recommended guidance and checklist that will help security practitioners and security technology solutions providers work together to implement strategies to mitigate against potential risks.”

ADT announced that former Amazon and Chewy.com executive, Jochen Koedijk, has joined the company as its chief marketing officer.

Reporting directly to ADT president Jim DeVries, Koedijk will be responsible for delivering digital and brand marketing strategies and initiatives that drive profitable business growth.

“Customer retention and lead-generation is significantly driven by digital engagement, and Jochen’s leadership experience with world-class organizations such as Amazon, Chewy, and Electronic Arts is an immediate asset to our organization,” DeVries said in the announcement. “Jochen is a marketing innovator, and we’re excited for him to build upon the ADT brand for our next generation of customers.”

Koedijk joins ADT from Chewy.com where he served as the vice president, marketing Previous to Chewy.com, Jochen held roles at Amazon and Electronic Arts. During his time at Amazon, he led worldwide Social Media and New Channel Advertising, overseeing a cross-functional team of more than 70 people and achieving triple digit year-over-year growth. As a member of Electronic Arts’ digital business unit leadership team, Jochen led in-house global performance marketing operations for the company’s Console, PC, and Mobile games business lines.

“Given the tremendous innovation in the home security and automation space, I couldn’t think of a better time to join ADT, North America’s most recognizable security leader,” Koedijk said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues to continue providing world-class customer service and scaling our business through new and disruptive channels.”

Koedijk holds his degrees in business administration and social sciences from the VU University in Amsterdam, NL.

Jamie Haenggi, who has been overseeing the marketing function as part of her responsibilities, will become the company’s chief customer officer. Customer strategy and retention remains the single most important part of the business, and Haenggi’s experience will be central to enhancing customer engagement, ADT said.

“Jamie is one of our most versatile executives,” DeVries said. “Her passion for the customer, strategic approach and vision for customer experience is instrumental to improving customer retention, maintaining best-in-class customer service and designing a roadmap for further customer engagement and growth.”

“We have made tremendous strides in our customer experience over the past two years,” Haenggi said in the press release. “I’m excited to lead the company’s efforts to further design and execute the customer strategy to deliver greater value, retention and an experience that continues to differentiate ADT in the marketplace.”

ADT, a provider of security and automation solutions in the United States and Canada for homes and businesses based in Boca Raton, Fla., employs approximately 17,500 people throughout North America.

IntelliVision this week announced that the latest version of its facial recognition technology now runs as a cloud-based service as well as on edge devices and on-premise servers.

“Face recognition is becoming a must-have security feature for smart homes and buildings, smart retail, transportation, access control and the gaming industry,” Krishna Khadloya, IntelliVision VP of engineering and products, said in the announcement. “Our face recognition now gives system integrators the flexibility to implement facial detection and recognition in the cloud, on servers, or at the edge, providing real-time results, and reducing bandwidth usage.”

The latest version of IntelliVision’s facial recognition technology is capable of detecting at least ten faces in less than one second with only 25% CPU usage on an Ambarella S5L-based camera, it announced, and as many as twenty faces can be recognized in a single frame. In the cloud-based Face Recognition as a Service, recognition time is sub-second and allows for additional analytics in the overall workflow where camera processing capacity is limited.